


Her Blanket

by andonlythinkofme



Category: Walking Dead, Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-09
Updated: 2013-03-09
Packaged: 2017-12-04 19:28:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/714202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andonlythinkofme/pseuds/andonlythinkofme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Using the rungs that attached the two bunks he jumped up onto the top bunk, landing on the bed that Carol had barely spent any time in."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Blanket

Silence reigned in the cellblock. The rag-tag family had passed out from emotional exhaustion as soon as the sky turned dark. The combined deaths of Lori, T-Dog, and Carol weighed heavy on everyone. Up in his nest, Daryl had trouble passing out like the rest. He lay on his back staring up at the concrete ceiling. His stomach churned painfully.

Daryl would be the first person to say he didn’t do friends. His partnership with Rick was formed more from necessity than anything else, though secretly he could admit that he enjoyed some of the talks they had. Friendship as a whole though, Daryl had spent most of his life avoiding. The man rolled onto his side, wrapping his arms around his aching stomach.

“She’s not my fuckin’ friend.” Daryl thought. It was true. Carol wasn’t Daryl’s friend. She was just some woman whose kid died. Daryl pressed his face into the mattress, his own thoughts hurting him more. He shouldn’t be thinking so much about her. People die, especially with the world gone to shit.

“She was jus’ some broad.” Daryl spoke aloud, trying to comfort himself with his own voice. The lie soothed nothing. He didn’t give Carol the title of friend, but his chest still hurt from the events of today.

“Well fuck this.” Daryl stood up from his mattress. He wasn’t comfortable here like he used to be. He felt constricted, like his skin was too tight. Rest is vital to surviving in this new world and Daryl recognized that better than anyone. The steel door that closed off the nest squealed when he pushed it open. He quickly stepped out and waited. His trained ears picked up nothing. Everyone below was still safely asleep.

Daryl hunched down low and using the moon light filtering through the window, he made his way down the stairs. He cursed himself for sleeping fully dressed for the clicking of his boots on the ground bounced off the high ceiling. He passed Herschel and Beth’s cell, the old man snoring freely. Once past them he got down even lower. He crept by Maggie and Glenn’s shared cell, both of whom were light sleepers. Finally he reached his destination, the empty cell that once belonged to Lori and Carol. He nudged the cell door open with his boot until the passage was wide enough to fit through.

Daryl knew that no one actually died in the cell, but as he straightened up, the hairs on his arms rose with him. It was as if death clung to the air in here. Just like after his Ma died, when the little shack he used to call home was shrouded in black, reeking of death and sadness months after the event.

Using the rungs that attached the two bunks he jumped up onto the top bunk, landing on the bed that Carol had barely spent any time in. The thin mattress was much like his own. Up in the corner of the bed he saw a stretch of fabric. The thin blue blanket she’d used since the CDC lay twisted in a heap on the stained mattress. He remembered Carol covering Sophia with this blanket several times on the road and after her daughter’s death, Carol would curl up with it, sometimes crying, sometimes just sleeping.

“Sentimental bitch.” Daryl huffed, trying to put some heat behind the thought. He lifted the blanket up so he could lay on the bed. The blanket was much too small to cover him, so he bunched it up and put it under his head as a makeshift pillow. Daryl closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of death and Carol. For a few minutes before sleep overtook him, Daryl’s stomach settled down. 


End file.
